Dragon-Flies. 



^,01 



is said to be derived from a Spanish word, ciicurdclm ; but as the latter means 

 a contemptible berrv, it is not easy to see how it became applied to these Insects. 



Dragon-Flies. 



These — the largest and most powerful representatives of Insect life in this 

 countrv — are as well known as to their general form as the butterflies and moths. 

 But, so far as the vast majority of our fellow men and women are concerned, there 

 our knowledge ends. They are too commonly known as " horse-stingers," and 

 the name indicates the wide-spread belief that they are creatures to be feared and 

 avoided. In all probability this libellous designation arose from the fact that the 

 dragon-flv has been seen sweeping around horses in pursuit of the real horse-stingers 

 (gad-flies) and other Insects that annoy 

 horses and cattle. The dragon-fly has 

 no sting, and is not a blood-sucker ; 

 but it has a very formidable set of jaws 

 with which it commits great destruction 

 among other Insects. From these at- 

 tacks the backboned animals are im- 

 mune. So there is no reason why we 

 should not make close acquaintance 

 with them, and admire their splendid 

 aerostatics without a fear of molestation. 



The distinctive features of the 

 dragon-fly are the long and mostly slender 

 hind-body, the robust fore-body to 

 which the wings and legs are attached, 

 the enormous compound eves, and the 

 four transparent, netted wings of great 

 expanse. It is easy to understand, 

 without dissection of the creature, that 

 the robustness of the fore-body is due 

 to the concentration there of powerful 

 muscles needed to work the long wings. 

 The size of the very convex compound 

 eyes, too, is understandable when one inquires how many facets or lenses they 

 include. One species has been found to possess in one of these eyes about ten 

 thousand lenses. 



One of the astonishing facts concerning those Insects that excel in flight is that 

 their earlier hfe does not appear to be a training for that kind of existence. If 

 one watches the continuous wheeling of a dragon-fly over a pond, or its swift sweep 

 up and down a leafy lane, in pursuit of its prey, one is astonished at the contrast 

 with its former sluggish life at the bottom of a stagnant pool. There is one point, 

 however, on which the two periods of life arc the same : the dragon-fly throughout 

 its life is a rapacious Insect. As a nymph it lives by stalking other denizens of 

 the pond. It is not provided with fins or a flexible tail with which it can lash 



Photo by] [W. J. Lucas, F.E.S. 



Surinam Cockro.\ch. 



This is the most recent of our foreign visitors to become naturalized 

 in this country. U is quite black, very shiny, and consequently 

 slippery. There is not at present any indication that it will 

 become a household pest, as it appears to be more at home in 

 plant-houses, and probably feeds upon plants. 



